Poland has a problem — with Frans Timmermans

First Vice President Frans Timmermans. The Commission’s No. 2 official, has repeatedly castigated the current Polish leadership’s decision to block the approval of judges appointed by the previous government to Poland’s highest court | John Thys/AFP via Getty Images

First Vice President Frans Timmermans. The Commission’s No. 2 official, has repeatedly castigated the current Polish leadership’s decision to block the approval of judges appointed by the previous government to Poland’s highest court | John Thys/AFP via Getty Images

BRATISLAVA — Polish Foreign Minister Witold Waszczykowski shot back at Warsaw’s critics in Brussels, insisting Poland wasn’t in conflict with the European Union or the Commission, but rather with a single commissioner — First Vice President Frans Timmermans.

“There are no tensions between Poland and the European Union. There are no tensions between Poland and the Commission,” Waszczykowski, one of the most influential voices in the Polish government, said in an interview on the sidelines of the Globsec security conference in Bratislava. “There are tensions between Poland and one commissioner.”

Timmermans, the Commission’s No. 2 official, has repeatedly castigated the current Polish leadership’s decision to block the approval of judges appointed by the previous government to Poland’s highest court. Timmermans recently characterized the move by Poland’s nationalist Law and Justice (PiS) government as a threat to “the very foundations on which the European Union is built.”

Last year, the Commission announced it was starting a rule-of-law probe into whether legislation pushed through by the Polish government — including on media freedoms and the constitutional court — break EU rules.

“In Poland, there is a mood that this a personal crusade by Timmermans because things he’s accusing us of were fixed a long time ago by the parliament” — Witold Waszczykowski

Poland could, in a worst-case scenario, be sanctioned and stripped of its voting rights. Though many in the European Commission share Timmermans’ concerns about Poland, the Dutch Social Democrat has led the charge, drawing the ire of the conservative government in Warsaw.

The Polish minister’s comments suggest Warsaw’s relations with Brussels are likely to remain frosty, despite recent attempts by the Commission to restart a dialogue to find a way out of the crisis. The Polish government is also at odds with Donald Tusk, whose second term as European Council president it tried unsuccessfully to derail.

“In Poland, there is a mood that this a personal crusade by Timmermans because things he’s accusing us of were fixed a long time ago by the parliament,” said Waszczykowski, expressing a view not shared by everyone in Brussels. “I do worry because this is an unjust claim by Timmermans. It stigmatizes Poland and creates a bad atmosphere about Poland.”

Even so, Waszczykowski added that Poland has so far suffered little negative impact from the dispute.

“Fortunately, this activity of Mr. Timmermans is not taken seriously by the ratings agencies, by investors or by business people,” he said.

‘Body of bureaucrats’

Waszczykowski said Timmermans’ criticism was emblematic of a European Commission that in Poland’s view has well overstepped the boundaries of its mandate, a state of affairs that the EU must urgently address if it hopes to maintain credibility among the region’s citizens.

“We cannot accept this. We cannot accept that a selected body of bureaucrats is monitoring and ordering and ruling the member states,” he said.

With an eye toward the EU’s ongoing discussions over whether and how to deepen integration among member states, Waszczykowski said addressing the role of the Commission was crucial.

“What is the legitimacy of the Commission? ” he asked. “The Commission does not have democratic legitimacy. It’s not elected, it’s selected by the governments. We have to find the criteria how to elect the body that’s going to rule a federal Europe.

“We can accept a federal Europe that is based on democratic rules.”

The Pole also left little doubt about his government’s skepticism regarding a “multispeed” Europe. The idea, though not new, is again gaining currency in the wake of Emmanuel Macron’s election as French president.

Macron has outlined his blueprint to reform the eurozone, including the installation of a finance minister with a dedicated budget. Poland and other countries outside the single currency worry that such steps would create a two-class society in Europe, putting those countries outside the eurozone at a disadvantage.

Waszczykowski said he preferred to maintain “a multi-currency European Union,” describing the single market as “a treasure.”

“Why is division better than unity?” Waszczykowski asked. “I don’t see any benefits from a divided Europe. We used to live in a divided Europe. Thirty years ago, after the end of the Second World War until the end of the Cold War. Was it good? No.”

Waszczykowski said he preferred to maintain “a multi-currency European Union,” describing the single market as “a treasure.”

“The eurozone is not growing. The speed of growth is very, very slow,” he said. “Outside the eurozone most countries grow at 3 percent or 4 percent like Poland, so it’s not worth it to be part of the eurozone.”

The eurozone is expected to grow by 1.7 percent this year — decent, if unspectacular, growth for the region.

Waszczykowski added that if the eurozone “fixes itself,” it “might be attractive” to Poland.

Star Trek Europe

At the same time, he expressed deep reservations about efforts to further integrate the bloc, warning that a federalist EU would inevitably sap individual member countries’ sovereignty. He said the EU needed to engage in a fundamental discussion over its future, especially in the wake of Brexit, which he described as a warning signal.

“We have to go for some kind of reflection about the state of the union because I cannot accept the situation that we are losing the second economy of the European Union and the fifth economy in the world, a nuclear power, a member of the Security Council and we say, ‘It was mistake of the Brits.’ No, it was some kind of mistake also of these institutions created by the EU.”

He suggested that suggestions ideas for a federal Europe, though appealing in theory, would likely remain little more than a fantasy for the foreseeable future.

“I’m a great fan of the Star Trek movies,” he said. “I would love to live in such a federation. But it’s 1,000 years ahead of us.”

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Jay

Waszczykowski is the only one of the two that has some practical sense. On the other hand, Timmermans is a socialist ideologue.

Posted on 5/29/17 | 7:49 AM CET

Jodocus4

Mr. Timmermans is completely in the right about Poland and he is the one doing the EU a service by not ignoring the matter like so many of his colleagues.

If being unprincipled and being prepared to sacrifice the rule of law for populist political convenience then Mr. Wasszykowski is certainly full of it. Practical sense I mean. Of the Trump kind. And of course Mr. W. likes the Common Market. It allows millions of his countryman to find work they would not have been able to in Poland itself. Plus EU membership brings in a cartload of subsidies and structural aid funds each year.

If supporting the integrity of Poland’s very own laws makes makes Mr. Timmermans a “socialist ideologue” then we need more of those in the EU. Especially in the Commission.

Posted on 5/29/17 | 8:24 AM CET

Ronald Grünebaum

My Polish friends used to remark that the killing of most intelligent Poles by the Soviets and the Nazis is still producing very visible results.

Whether Poland behaves correctly as an EU member should indeed be judged by a democratic body. The EP comes to mind and I guess the current Polish Government may not like the result either. They may actually be better off with Mr Timmermans.

Posted on 5/29/17 | 9:21 AM CET

Alexandre

It is Mr Timmermans who has a problem here. His intentions may have been good in the beginning, though they were surely influenced by his left leaning influencers who are opposing current Polish government.
Yet his actions are now really off the mark, driven by his personal animosities, totally unrealistic and leading nowhere.

Mr Timmermans looks more and more like spoiled child crying aloud in the supermarket’s queue because his parents are not buying him lolipops he wants. And Mr Waszczykowski looks like an angered mum – ashamed by the child’s behaviour but too timid to really shake him up in front of other shoppers.
Hopefully, with the year 2019 and new Commission this childish behaviour will end.

Posted on 5/29/17 | 9:36 AM CET

Milton38

Unfortunately governments in Warsaw, when ruled by dreamers of a Grosspolnisches Reich, are not capable of rational thought.
That was always the case and any rational argument is purely wasted effort.
The simple answer: Non-compliance means No Money.

Posted on 5/29/17 | 9:41 AM CET

glasspix 1

As hard as it is going to hit as all economically, countries that think national identity and a homogenous native society is important, will have to find a way to peel off the EU. We are paying an increasingly high price for sharing the block’s economic benefits while being dragged into the complete social and cultural breakdown of the Continent. They are beyond reform or salvation and they have relinquished the safety of their children on the altar of a neo-liberal multiculturalist dogma. If it prevents the infiltration of terrorism, I will happily stand in a long queue for bananas before Christmas, just like in the old days.

Posted on 5/29/17 | 9:49 AM CET

Alexandre

Dear Milton38,
You reference to Grosssomething Reich is patently absurd and racist. Please learn more about Poland’s WWII experience.

Regarding the money, I find your proposal a populist rhetoric. You seem horrifyingly unaware who benefits from the EU funds send to CEE. There are studies pointing out that it is Germany who benefits mostly from structural funds, its companies getting back 85% of the Poland’s share of the EU funds. There are studies showing that cohesion investments in V4 countries brought export benefits to richer EU states. Now go and cut this revenue source to Germany which faces reduction of its super trade surplus with UK after Brexit…. go figure who will not be happy…

Posted on 5/29/17 | 12:29 PM CET

Stan

@Alexandre

Well said. There are no investments without returns.

Posted on 5/29/17 | 12:58 PM CET

Milton38

Dear Alexandre,
please study Polish history between 1918 and 1939 and then come back and tell me how many military disputes Poland had with its neighbours.
Yes they are quite a few.
On structural funds, maybe but consider that if Germany did not pay into the EU funds it could spend a lot more on its own.
You do not understand the last sentence either; you either are part of a group and follow all its rules and regulations or you are not – cherry picking is not considered good manners, except perhaps in Poland.

Posted on 5/29/17 | 1:01 PM CET

ska

@Miltion 38
While projecting on the neighbourhood county your phantasies about “Gross (polnisches) Reich”, completely unknown term in Poland, stick better to your native German dude.

Posted on 5/29/17 | 1:04 PM CET

Josef Papug

Please, do not derive any direct sens from Waszczykowski’s pronouncements. He is perceived in Poland as total idiot without any say in Polish politics. Only Kaczynski is important.
For Kaczynski, isolated Poland is the ultimate goal. He wants Polexit. Only such a Poland can be ruled in autocratic way, surrounded by enemies and in constant need for harshly implemented national and Party integrity.
So, Kaczynski (through Waszczykowski drone) is always against Commission. If, by accident Commission would propose multicurrency Europe, Kaczynski will be against it also. Because he need “Bad EU” to consolidate his grip.

Posted on 5/29/17 | 1:15 PM CET

pol

@Milton38, easy with the german revisionist history. After WWI, Poland had disputes to recreate its borders because (and correct me if I’m wrong)… germany (prussia), Austria (Habsburgs) and Russia decided to dismantle the Polish state at the end of the 18th century.

So, germans started a problem then blamed others who were caught up in it. Typical german narcissism.

Posted on 5/29/17 | 1:21 PM CET

No way!

NO TO A TEUTONIC EUROPEAN UNION. I don’t want to live in a Europe dominated by Germany!!

Posted on 5/29/17 | 1:26 PM CET

Alexandre

Dear Milton38,

You should seriously work on your attitude and avoid rude anti-Poland’s remarks. Name calling will lead you nowhere.

Poland has suffered enormously from German Nazism, and is the last place on Earth where such ideology could get any traction. It is intellectually unfair and really populist argument to even suggest its current government have anything to do with Nazism. And no, 1918-1939 history has nothing to do with it.

There is nothing singular about nowadays Poland, which would justify Mr Timmermans apparent obsession.

Posted on 5/29/17 | 2:18 PM CET

jott

It is obvious: Poland’s foreign minister simply does not get it, effective diplomacy within the EU is way above his skills level. He keeps kicking the Commission, and then all of a sudden declares “We can accept a federal Europe that is based on democratic rules”. This is intriguing, as there is no record of any prior discussion on federal Europe within Mr. Waszczykowski’s PiS party, all that could be registered until now were the rantings and battle cries of individual PiS figures against – you guessed it already – federal Europe, of course. Since the same PiS actors, starting with Mr. Kaczyński, keep boasting that Poland has “the best democracy in Europe” (sic!), we may assume that the PiS practice of democracy is seen by PiS as the best model for federal Europe. But then, dear Mr. Waszczykowski, you might have to accept a situation where 18% of eligible voters secure a 38% of total votes for the winning party, and that result is translated into a workable parliamentary majority for that party… and then those proudly democratic PiS followers would be outvoted every time by the wicked Germans and the treacherous French… So much for your soundbites on federal Europe, Mr. Waszczykowski. Next time before you open your mouth, think it through first, and do a thorough job of it.

Posted on 5/29/17 | 2:40 PM CET

pol

@jott, listen the EU is not democratic, if I don’t agree with Timmermans or Juncker can I vote against them? They ruined Greece, threatened the security of European citizens with mass migration, and they do what Merkel tells them to do.

Funny how when France broker deficit rules nothing ever happened, or now in Germany when they are confiscating private property to house all these immigrants the EC is not raising question about right of “European” citizens.

Waszczykowski and Poland is standing up for true democracy not the Brussels/Berlin socialist “diktat” which masquerades itself as democratic!

Posted on 5/29/17 | 3:05 PM CET

pexit

The reasons why the IV Reich puppets are addressing Poland are political :

1/ Poland is against the dreamed version of Berlin to transform EU to a big EUSSR with a ongoing great deal with Russia…because the real so called “sanctions ” against Russia are in reality multi tens of billions deals like OPAL, North STREAM I and the future n°II…
2/ Poland is proposing to his citizens some new kind of gouvernment taking care of his citizens and not the elite, they simply put in place real taxes control and some kind of fiscal real control and it’s working very well…

3/ The economic results of this new model which is going very well, are a growth of the PNB which will be around 4% in 2016, and the elite and their acting puppets don’t want that such kind of real democracy could spread trough Europe where the poor people have only choice between puppet n°1 and puppet n°2….

Posted on 5/29/17 | 3:39 PM CET

Mx

@pol oh, honey, but of course you can vote against Juncker, you probably already have done so! He was chosen (through an election) by the EPP to be the candidate for the position of Commission president before the 2014 elections, and every other European party chose its own candidate. It was all very clear, although very poorly reported by national media. The EPP was the first party in the elections, they managed to secure a majority for a grand coalition with other parties, so the Council respected the elections and appointed Juncker. If they had tried to go against the democratically expressed will of the people, the EP would have voted against the proposed Commission. It doesn’t get any more democratic than this.

Posted on 5/29/17 | 3:47 PM CET

Teresa

@Jodocus4
Don’t talk to us about ” a cartload of subsidies and structural aid funds each year” please ! Have you forgotten that Poland was the most destroyed and robbed country during the World War II and Warsaw was “ground zero”. The German nazis destroyed 80 per cent buildings and the whole infrastructure, murdered 250,000 civilians and deported( to Auschwitz among other ” places”) or expelled many more. After Warsaw Uprising one thousend inhabitants were left( from 1 mln. 300,000)in the ruins of capital. Less destroyed German towns ( and the whole Western Europe) could take advantage of Marshall Plan. Poland and Warsaw weren’t allowed . The Soviets excluded Poland from part of German compensation from their ocupation zone – they created ” Deutschen Demokratische Reoublic”. Poland without almost any damages , without elites murdered simultaneously by German nazis and Soviets( they sent our war heroes to Siberia even after 1945 and their communist agents in Warsaw tortured the couregous fighters in prison’s basements till at least 1956) had to survive the whole Cold War. Poles had to ajust to requirements of accession treaty and competition with richier and more developed countries . And today Jodocus4 and others try to patronize country that was treated in the most unjust manner through centuries.

Posted on 5/29/17 | 4:14 PM CET

mirek

“Waszczykowski, one of the most influential voices in the Polish government” ??? I am surprised – Politico is usually much better informed. Szydlo, president Duda & especially Waszczykowski are mere puppets in a government run by Jaroslaw Kaczynski. You should know better?

Posted on 5/29/17 | 4:26 PM CET

pol

@Mx, like most Europeans, I don’t understand that dumb EU political process, and do you know why?

Because… it’s so F’ complicated. The EU is like the financial ‘swaps’ or ‘derivatives’, after a certain point no one has a clue how they work, except the wiseguys that create them, to play the system.

Sorry, the EU is not democratic.

Posted on 5/29/17 | 5:02 PM CET

Jay

Don’t forget about all the referendums that did not go the way European Commission wanted (Holland, Ireland, etc.), they just called for a re-do referendum and magically the vote turned out their way! Oh, what a surprise!

Posted on 5/29/17 | 5:09 PM CET

Corni

The bottom line is that people in the East and South had enough of Germany in the past, hence the reticence for aligning to Mutti’s diktat via the EU puppets.

Posted on 5/29/17 | 5:20 PM CET

Anthony

In 2015 Angela Merkel unilaterally decided to invite in one million refugee into Germany. For this she was rebuked by her own country and ever since has been trying to dilute the problem by insisting on other EU countries taking a quota.

By this single act Merkel destroyed the EU project.

Maybe Germany should be the one to lose its funding?

Posted on 5/29/17 | 5:41 PM CET

Veritas-Semper

True, Timmermans has a thing for Poland. But, he will continue to be sorely disappointed because investors are voting with ever increasing investments in Poland and that is what really counts.

And, at the rate things are moving, Poland is likely to see a net immigration of former French, Germans, (fellow) Dutch and others fed up with the general lack of security in their homelands…

Posted on 5/29/17 | 6:28 PM CET

Kapitan Bomba

New definition of irony : germans lecturing Poland about democracy 🙂 Remember 2 weeks news ban after New Years Eve refugee Cologne party ? Or maybe twitter or Facebook witchhunt if some do not like current imigration policy ? How about N2 pipeline ? Suddetly Mr Timmermans have nothing to say 🙂

Posted on 5/29/17 | 7:34 PM CET

Sally Boss

The European Commission is an unelected body of individuals whose meddling in the internal affairs of weaker EU countries (especially those in non-Germanic Central Europe) shows their insatiable greed for power and importance, and perhaps also racism.

Posted on 5/29/17 | 10:06 PM CET

That's right

The EU is democratic. The Commission is voted as it is proposed by each party in the European Parliament and then voted.
Timmermans is right to be concerned as Poland is turning extremely right-wing, with fascist smell.

I am Italian and in my very National Anthem is depicted the injustice and harsh history of Poland, yet, we are in the 21rst Century and have to move on. There are no excuses to be illiberal. EVER.

Posted on 5/30/17 | 10:42 AM CET

European realist

@ Alexandre:

EU subsidies to Poland are transfers (effectively, the same as transfers to developing countries outside the EU), even if a certain amount of those monnies are spent on goods and services from the donor countries.

As long as Poland depends on these funds for its development, it counts for little in the EU.

Posted on 5/30/17 | 12:15 PM CET

European realist

@ Veritas-Semper:

1. Foreign investment in Poland is sharply lower now than it was before PiS took power in late 2015.

2. Poles continue to leave the country in large numbers, at a rate of about 100,000 net per year. More than 90 % of them go to Western Europe (mainly the UK and Germany). Meanwhile, there is virtually no immigration from Western Europe to Poland at all.

Your comments could use a bit of realism.

Posted on 5/30/17 | 12:19 PM CET

Rafael

@European Realist

Pt. 1 If you are such a realist, you should know that foreign investments are almost never – apart from some extreme and radical cases – really linked to the political landscape of a country. Unless the economic conditions stay the same, also the investments will continue. Only very dramatic changes of the political situation lead to cuts in investments.
If you don’t believe me, just look at foreign investments to China which for decades have been very high despite the communist party being very ruthless to its citizens and despite China not following any democratic direction of caring about human rights etc.

Capital and investments follow their own rules and look for ways to get a return on investments. The real reason for investments going down is therefore rather simple and natural. Poland has become a very mature economy both in terms of market saturation as well as average salaries which have been increasing since almost 30 years now. Many Poles are returning home as they can now earn in many cases better money at home than in poorly paid jobs abroad and without being discriminated and treated badly.

Pt. 2 It’s not entirely true that Poles still continue to leave in large numbers. Some are, of course, but also many Poles return back home after having worked and gathered both experience and language skills in various countries in Europe.
Many Poles start their own businesses at home or get great jobs at multinational companies which is fairly easy when you speak some foreign languages and have international experience.
And by the way, also many Germans emigrate and look for jobs in neighboring countries such as Switzerland, Austria or other European countries.

Posted on 5/30/17 | 3:09 PM CET

ab

Even Dutch are fed up with him and his party – it hovers at ca. 3% support in Netherlands.

So why Poles should bother ?!?
Waszczykowski should not loose time for such marginal EU personality.
Let Timmermans come back to his mummy – Merkel, and complain to her like a spoiled child who can not get a lollipop he wants so much.